President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said his government will support the evidence-led campaign of the Nigerian media against Big Tech dominance, anti-competitive activities, and the harsh economic headwinds affecting local media.
He described the press as an “indispensable partner” in the nation’s journey towards economic stability, press freedom, and social cohesion.
At a meeting at the State House on Friday, the President said his government would help dismantle the fiscal hurdles and “digital cannibalisation” currently threatening the survival of the press.
He gave this assurance during an interfaith dinner with a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), led by the NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru.
The delegation also included industry leaders and patrons, among them Aremo Olusegun Osoba, publisher of Vanguard; Mr Sam Amuka, Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE News Channel; Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Chairman of Channels Television, Dr John Momoh; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Alhaji Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos; former NPAN President and veteran journalist, Mr Ray Ekpu; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr Eze Anaba; President of the online publishers’ association, Mr Danlami Nmodu, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP); and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi, among others.
Also present were all executive members of NPAN, managing directors of media houses, top media practitioners across all platforms, and representatives of civil society.
President Tinubu said his government was already reviewing the tariff exemption list and would consider the inclusion of the items used by the media, such as newsprint, plates, chemicals, and radio and television broadcast equipment, which currently attract tariffs of 5 to 10 per cent. If this happens, these items would enjoy a status similar to that of educational and research materials.
With the media industry reeling from skyrocketing newsprint and equipment costs, President Tinubu signalled his administration’s readiness to intervene by reviewing tariffs.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President said.
Earlier, the Deputy President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Publisher of BusinessDay, Mr Frank Aigbogun, in a speech delivered on behalf of the NPO, accused some tech companies of increasingly “scraping” proprietary creative content to train AI models, often by breaching digital paywalls.
Aigbogun requested the president to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to work with the media to investigate complaints that Big Tech dominance and anti-competitive practices were costing local media at least 70 per cent of its legitimate income, estimated by some sources at hundreds of millions of dollars, in addition to the loss of jobs and opportunities.
Before the President’s response, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the government had already begun “engaging Big Tech,” companies including Meta and Google.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” he said.
Among other dignitaries present at the meeting were Vice President Kashim Shettima, as well as senior aides and special advisers to President Tinubu.
It would be recalled that the NPO had, in January, written to the government and also published a statement complaining about the existential threat Big Tech operations pose to local media.
